Dear Patient:

I've struggled over this for months. So, here goes…

Beginning (date) I will no longer be taking insurance assignment. That is, I can no longer process your insurance as part of my practice. Instead, we will be rolling back the clock almost two decades and accepting fee for service: cash, check and credit cards.

In the olden days, we handled the insurance paperwork for our patients as a"personal service." Patients appreciated the fact that we would take care of their health and all the paperwork necessary for reimbursement. All they had to do was meet a deductible amount and come up with a modest co-payment. After a month or so, we got paid from the insurance company and all was well.

Then things changed.

Recently when we have submitted insurance claims for our patients, the delays, foot dragging and stalling techniques seem like small irritants in comparison to the "claims adjusting" they perform when they arbitrarily reduce what I am paid by as much as 60%! But what can I do? After all, your insurance policy is an agreement between you and them. By doing you a favor, they cut my bill. That's not how this was supposed to work.

So, beginning (date) we'll begin supplying you with the documents you'll need to receive reimbursement directly from your carrier. And rather than months, you're likely to be paid in weeks. And instead of your $100 claim being arbitrarily reduced to $62.37, you're more likely to be reimbursed in full. So, you'll still benefit from the coverage of your policy (as limited as it is), it's just you'll be the one dropping it in the mail, instead of me.

We'll still be offering our popular annual care plans ($000), along with an affordable fee for those who prefer to come in on a per-visit basis ($00) and everything in between. Obviously, we'll still accept Medicare, but our primary focus will be working with people who want to optimize their health, know the value of it and are willing to address an envelope and lick a stamp.

Whew! That wasn't so bad!

Questions? Please call me personally or consult with one of my team members.

Warmest regards,